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Will Illinois Football Drop Out of Top 25 Despite Beating Purdue?

Bret Bielema is looking forward to ranked-versus-ranked against Michigan, but the Illini coach might be wrong about Sunday's AP poll

Steven Greenberg

Oct 12, 2024; Champaign, Illinois, USA; Fighting Illinois players celebrate with the Purdue Cannon in a 50-49 win against the Purdue Boilermakers at Memorial Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Ron Johnson-Imagn Images
Oct 12, 2024; Champaign, Illinois, USA; Fighting Illinois players celebrate with the Purdue Cannon in a 50-49 win against the Purdue Boilermakers at Memorial Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Ron Johnson-Imagn Images / Ron Johnson-Imagn Images
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After beating Purdue 50-49 in overtime to get to 5-1 on the season – and avoid what would have been a terrible loss – Illinois coach Bret Bielema looked ahead to the next game, against Michigan in Champaign.

"To be a 5-1 team headed into this Michigan week, two ranked teams coming in at Memorial Stadium, that's what it's all about."

But will the Illini, who went into the Purdue game ranked 23rd, still be in the Top 25 when it comes out Sunday afternoon?

The guess here is no. Frankly, after blowing a 24-point lead against the Boilermakers, a bottom-of-the-barrel Big Ten team, the Illini deserve to fall out.

The only Top 25 losers were No. 9 Ole Miss, which fell to 4-2 with an overtime loss at LSU; No. 16 Utah, 4-2 after a loss at Arizona State; and No. 18 (tie) Oklahoma, 4-2 after being blown out by No. 1 Texas. Utah and Oklahoma likely will tumble from the poll – and should. Ole Miss will stay in it, well ahead of Illini territory.

Voters' confidence in the Illini has to be shaken. The two teams behind them – Michigan and SMU – were on byes, but there's a strong chance each will move ahead of the Illini on Sunday.

Vanderbilt, 4-2, could crash the poll after consecutive wins against Alabama and at Kentucky. Iowa, also 4-2, could be back in it after blowing out Washington. Army, 6-0, is another potential crasher to watch.

The prediction: Illinois meets an "others receiving votes" fate in Week 8.

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Steven Greenberg
STEVEN GREENBERG

Steve Greenberg, a columnist for the Chicago Sun-Times, has written about college sports since the early 1990s.

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